


oh you know, I know, everything's made for love

by nikola_tesla_slowburn



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, Half-Life
Genre: (very mild dw!!), Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Lazy Mornings, M/M, Morning Cuddles, Not A Game AU, Post-Canon, Stargazing, They/Themrey, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i care them all so much i just want them to be happy, no beta we die like men!!, so much fluff dude, this is so soft and so self indulgent, tommy can say :) out loud
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikola_tesla_slowburn/pseuds/nikola_tesla_slowburn
Summary: a super sappy fic about how each couple from the science team spends a morning together a year out of Black Mesa.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Tommy Coolatta & Sunkist, Tommy Coolatta/Darnold
Comments: 11
Kudos: 92





	oh you know, I know, everything's made for love

**Author's Note:**

> this is somehow more embarassing than posting porn because it just shows how touch starved i am,,,, anyways the title is from the song 'everythings made for love' by gene austin

Gordon cringed and slapped his free hand around mindlessly as he searched for the phone that was currently belting out an unforgivingly loud alarm.  _ Blegh _ , he thought as he switched it off and begrudgingly put on his glasses. Normally there would be a follow-up to the ‘blegh’ but his brain was still in the process of remembering how to speak proper English.

He glanced down at the figure curled into his chest, more closely resembling a pile of laundry and hair than human- well, whatever Benrey was. Gordon smiled at the sight of them. A year out of Black Mesa had been good to them both. The sallow, almost sickly look to Benrey’s skin had significantly reduced, revealing a warm and much healthier shade of tan. They had grown their hair out too, not a lot, but enough so that the wild black curls just brushed their shoulders.

Gordon checked the time on his phone, 9 in the morning, he still had an hour and a half to get ready before he went to pick up Joshie for the weekend.  _ Better get moving _ , he thought noncommittally as he felt Benrey’s grip on his waist tighten. He gently shook their arm. When that didn’t work he shook a little harder, this earned a groan and a half mumbled string of insults.

“Come on man, wake up.”

“Dun wanna, s’ comfy down here.”

“I need to get going.” Gordon replied softly, leaning down to brush some of Benrey’s hair away and press a kiss to their temple. The new approach seemed to further wake them up. Shifting up to get a better look at Gordon, Benrey yawned and rubbed the sleep from their eyes before a grinning at him like an idiot.

“God Feetman, at least take me to dinner first. If you keep acting like that people are gonna get the impression that we’re uh, dating or something. Don’t even have the decency t’ do that kinda gay shit behind closed doors.”

A laugh bubbled out of Gordon’s chest at the stupid joke. “Man, we’re literally laying in  _ our _ bed, in  _ our bedroom _ , that is located in  _ our shared house _ . Doesn’t get much more ‘behind closed doors’ than this.”

“Mm. Doubt that.”

“Whatever, I’m going to make breakfast. I need to go and get Joshua from his mom’s around 10:30 if you want to come.”

“What? Oh shit I forgot that was today! Dude we need to hurry up!” Benrey exclaimed, shooting up out of bed (and almost taking out one of Gordon’s teeth in the process.) 

“Woah okay, don’t be offended, but since when are you this excited to see my son?”

“Ever since he promised I could teach him how to play Mortal Kombat.” Benrey shot Gordon an evil grin as they pulled on their chullo.

“Wh- Benrey you can’t show that to a six year old, it’s way too graphic! Why did you think that was okay?”

“He uh, said he could handle it. I dunno.” They shrugged.

“I don’t even- how did- why are you taking his word for it?”

“I trust his judgement, unlike his dad’s”

“You keep that kind of slander up and I’m not letting him bring his switch over here anymore.”   


Benrey let out an exaggerated gasp and whipped a hand up to cover their mouth.

“You take that back, who else is going to help him kick his unwanted villagers off his island? I thought we had seen the last of uh, Gordon Meanman, turns out he was just hiding right under our uh, collective noses.”

“Who’s we?”

Benrey gestured vaguely around the room. “The masses.”

Gordon rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his smile. He pulled on a hoodie and made his way out of the bedroom door, Benrey following close behind.

As the two ate a breakfast of scrambled eggs and a couple of Eggos Benrey had dug out of the freezer, Gordon took a minute to just soak in the domesticity of it all. A year ago during that first miserable, panic attack filled, sleepless first week back from Black Mesa, he would have never expected life to become this normal. Especially not with Benrey. Granted, there still were nights, hell even weeks that got hard, but the presence of a certain security guard had made them much more manageable.

“Likin’ the view, huh?” Benrey asked, snapping Gordon out of his thoughts.

“Oh- uh,” Gordon felt his face heat up, how long had he been staring?

“Yeah, actually, I do.”

Benrey tried to pass the squeak they let out as a laugh, but a small grouping of pink Sweet Voice orbs betrayed them.

  
  


*****

The sound of a clicking keyboard had always been soothing to Tommy. Whether it was just the calming monotonous  _ tchk tchk tchk _ in general, or the fact that a lot of his early life had been spent around scientists constantly typing away, he wasn’t sure. But one thing was for sure, the sound had an almost therapeutic effect. Which is why he was now slowly being pulled out of sleep by the sound of Darnold attempting to silently play TF2 on his laptop next to Tommy, rather than the blaring of his alarm.

“G’morning.” He mumbled, turning to Darnold and rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes.

“Oh! Good morning love, sorry I didn’t mean to wake you up. Sunkist woke me up to let her out like an hour ago and I couldn’t go back to sleep, got bored but I didn’t want to leave bed.” Darnold replied, smiling sheepishly.

“That’s o- it’s ok Dr. Pepper! I don’t mind :)” Tommy said as he shuffled closer to his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his waist and burying his face into Darnold’s side.

“I still don’t get why you insist on calling me that, it’s so formal.” Darnold giggled, shifting to make space for Tommy and his laptop.

“I call you that ‘cause- because it reminds me of the so-soda! And I love yo- I love you, and I love soda.” Tommy replied, shifting to look up at his boyfriend with a bright smile.

“Oh-!” Darnold felt a surge of affection and leaned down to press a kiss to Tommy’s lips, reveling in the feeling of his smile on Darnold’s lips.

“I love you too.” He mumbled against Tommy’s lips before beginning a barrage of kisses peppering the other’s face.

Tommy giggled and squirmed, trying (and failing) to escape this vicious attack.

“Ah! Sun-Sunkist! Help! I’m being att-attacked!” He managed between laughs. A moment passed and the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps was heard in the hallway. Sunkist, in all her glory, burst through the bedroom door and promptly launched her body onto the couple, only adding to the chaos as she began to lick every and any space she could reach, letting out an occasional soft yip of excitement.

“Sunkist no! My laptop!” Darnold cried as he attempted to worm his arms through the mess of golden fur and limbs to reach his beloved computer. Quickly snatching it up and holding it above his head victoriously. 

“Okay Sunkist! Calm down girl.” Darnold laughed, placing his computer on the bedside table and running a calming hand over her back. Tommy wrapped his arms around the dog and sighed into her fur, smiling contentedly.

“Are you hungry? I could make us pancakes if you’d like.” Darnold suggested, stretching out and flopping back down.

“Oh ye-yeah! That sounds wonderful, but um, I j-just remembered! I have a surprise for you. I-it’s in the garage, co-come on, Dr. Pepper! :)”

Tommy stood up and grabbed Darnolds hand, leading them down the stairs to the garage, which Tommy used as a makeshift lab for smaller experiments and tinker projects. As the two walked quietly, Darnold could see his boyfriend’s hand flapping slightly at his side. What could he have to show me? Darnold wondered to himself, Tommy had been spending a lot more time in the garage as of recent, but neither had mentioned it. It wasn’t their anniversary- that was in a week- or Darnold’s birthday- that was two months from now. His train of thought was cut off as they reached the door in the back of the kitchen that led out to the garage.

“Yo-you need to close your eyes, okay? I promis- I promise it’s a good surprise.” Tommy said as he placed a hand on the doorknob. 

“Alright.” Darnold squeezed his eyes shut and let himself be led into the cold garage. He sat patiently as Tommy rummaged around, a small creak was heard and Tommy shuffled in front of Darnold.

“Okay, o-open!”

Darnold opened his eyes and let out a small shocked gasp at the sight before him, Tommy was stood in front of him with an armful of… cat! A beautiful tabby cat was held in his arms, purring contentedly. She opened her big yellow eyes and let out a squeaky meow.

“I thought uh, I thought Sunkist needed a- a friend! So I made- made her! She’s the perfect cat, s-she’s named Pepsi!” Tommy announced, grinning despite the anxiety building in his chest.

“Oh, Tommy she’s beautiful!” Darnold swooped forward to kiss his cheek and pulled back to run a hand over her soft fur. “You did an amazing job, really. You were right, this is a good surprise.” 

Tommy flushed at the praise and giggled nervously.

“Aw th-thanks :)”

“Come on let’s go introduce the two! I can’t wait to see Sunkist’s reaction.” 

*****

Morning in the boomer household began a little earlier than most would expect. Dr. Coomer stood in the kitchen, glancing up at the digital clock sat on the counter. 3:30 in the morning, a half hour left to prepare. He stood back and admired his work, two thermoses filled with coffee (one black, one with lots of cream and a little sugar), a thick quilt, a star map, a small portable radio, perfection. He rushed back to the bedroom to wake his partner, who was currently sprawled out on their bed fast asleep, limbs sticking out at every angle. Dr. Coomer took a moment to smile fondly at the sight, but was quickly pulled out of his trance by the sharp beeping of his watch, reminding him that time to get set up.

“Bubby!” He whisper-yelled, jostling him slightly. “Bubby dear please wake up! The meteor shower is about to begin.”

“Mm. Wha?” Bubby fumbled for his glasses before finally shoving them onto his nose, squinting up at Coomer. “Whadthe hell is goin on.”

“The meteor shower remember? It’s going to start in about ten minutes.”

“Shit! I forgot about that, ok ok I’m getting up.” He stretched out and cracked a few joints in place before slowly rising and going to the closet to pull a sweater over his worn out Motley Crue t-shirt. 

Coomer rushed out and gathered his supplies from the counter, sliding the back door open and entering the small backyard. He stood and scanned the space before him for a moment, trying to decide the best spot to set up before settling on an open patch of grass situated in the center. Laying out the blanket, he plopped the star map down and set up the small radio, fiddling with the controls for a moment before settling on a station that played soft classical music, a personal favorite of Coomer’s. Settling down on the blanket, he took a sip of coffee and looked up at the sky, no shooting stars yet, just a sea of mixed blues and deep purples speckled with pinpricks of bright, twinkling lights. 

“I miss any yet?” Bubby’s voice cut through the soft chirp of crickets and music.

“None yet, come and sit down, I made us coffee.” Coomer looked up and smiled, gesturing at the thermos that sat opposite him. Despite the dark, he could see the flash of Bubby’s grin as he walked over, two pillows stolen from the couch under each arm. He dumped them unceremoniously on the quilt and took a deep sip of his coffee while Coomer situated himself so that he was half lying down, half sitting up far enough to comfortably see the sky.

“C’mon make some space.” Bubby stretched out and laid down on Coomer’s chest, nestling into him and sighing contently. They laid there for a while, Bubby tapping his foot excitedly while Coomer hummed softly along with the music. The peace was quickly broken as the first streak of light shot across the sky.

“Hah! There’s one! Did you see it Coomy?” 

“Mhm! It was beautiful.”

This first star was the first of many, each one earning an excited sound from Bubby, his fingers drumming excitedly against Coomer’s arm. He filled the spaces in between bursts of falling stars with various facts about meteors.

Once the shower began to slow down and the spaces between each burst only extended, Bubby began to calm down, opting to return to the comfortable silence they had sat in earlier. 

Growing tired of only snatching quick peaks at Coomer, Bubby shifted to look up at his partner who was once again gazing up with a slightly awestruck look on his face at the sky above. What remained of his curly hair pulled back into a low ponytail, eyes sparkling in the starlight. Bubby felt his face grow hot despite himself.  _ Fuck’s sake you’re too old for that _ , he thought bitterly. He couldn’t help himself though, never in his life had he thought his life could turn to  _ this.  _ From an experiment in a test tube that barely even had a grasp on what- who he was to… this. To a normal, safe life, free of Black Mesa, or test tubes, or any horrible monsters they had fought during their escape. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes.  _ Fuck! No! Not supposed to happen!  _ He quickly pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes before Coomer could see them.

“Dear, are you alright?”

_ Shit! Can’t let him know I was crying, think Bubby think! _

“Pft. Yeah I’m fine, just got some sssstardust… in my eyes. Yeah. It’s a real bitch to get out let me tell you.”

_ Perfectly done _ , he thought smugly.

“Bubby…” 

And Coomer’s hand was coming up to cup his cheek and his voice was so soft and full of concern and Bubby  _ still _ was not to used to the genuine love this man felt for him and  _ oh fuck he’s crying again. _

“What’s the matter?” Coomer asked, gently running a thumb over Bubby’s now tear stained cheek.

“Just… happy. That’s all, really. It’s stupid but I never thought things would be this good. But they are and I just… need to adjust.” He paused and swallowed the urge to cry more. “I love you.”

Coomer smiled softly at him, leaning down to press an awkward, yet sweet kiss to Bubby’s lips.

“I love you too, and I couldn’t be happier with my life at this moment.”

Bubby let out a shaky laugh and twisted to wrap his arms around Coomers neck, settling his face on his chest and sighing. 

Coomer was quiet for a moment before beginning again.

“You see that constellation over there? The one that resembles a triangle?”   


Bubby hummed in response.

“It has quite a fascinating backstory, you see, that star over there is named Vega, and across from her, there’s Altair. Now this whole mythology begins with-”

Bubby smiled to himself as he listened to Coomer’s story. Sure, his back would probably ache like hell when they decided to move back into the house, but he figured that would be worth it  just to hear Coomer’s excited ramblings for a little bit longer.

**Author's Note:**

> ah i hope u enjoyed reading!! also I can't for the life of me find the person on tumblr who was responsible for the pepsi the cat hc but if you know who it is please tell me and i'll credit them!!
> 
> my tumblr is @12-horses-in-drag if ur interested :0)


End file.
